Clothes lines

Pretty in pink:The pretty pink floral dress (pictured) called Ella is by Caroline Kilkenny and can be bought in the Kilkenny Shops. It costs €229.95. Her latest collection has a paler palette, but with practical considerations.

The Marilyn, for example, a three-quarter length mac (€399.95) in pastel print is a stylish and versatile buy.

Lainey on sale

Lainey Keogh, designing from her Wicklow lair, still has an enthusiastic fan base in the US, Europe and online for her knitwear, and continues to show every season in Paris. Today, in the Shelbourne Hotel in Dublin, there will be a one-day opportunity to buy direct from her latest collection of cute cardigans, dresses, coats and tops in pale spring colours and cashmere silk blends. There will be several embroidered pieces made for the occasion. While she continues to make bespoke items, Keogh is also planning to open her yarn archive to fellow knitters. Contact her at info@laineykeogh.com. Doors open at 10am and the sale will run til 8pm in the St Stephen’s Suite at the Shelbourne Hotel.

Crafty fashion show

The National Craft Gallery in Kilkenny is to host its first fashion show with Project 51 designers Claire O’Connor, Sinead Doyle, Jennifer Rothwell and Caoimhe Keane, next Saturday, March 31st, at 3pm. It’s being staged to promote Block Party, an exhibition of contemporary craft inspired by the art of the tailor, which runs until May 16th. Curated by the visual artist Lucy Orta, professor of Art, Fashion and the Environment at London College of Fashion, the artists participating use pattern-cutting as their starting point for sculpture, ceramics, moving image and collage. Turner prize-nominated Yinka Shonibare, for example, presents a child mannequin dressed in a Victorian outfit made from African fabric to reference culture, race and history